Bebop Spoken There

David Bailey (photographer): ''When I was 16 I wanted to look like Chet Baker. He was my idol - him and James Dean.'' (Talking Pictures documentary : Four beats to the bar and no cheating April, 2026)

The Things They Say!

This is a good opportunity to say thanks to BSH for their support of the jazz scene in the North East (and beyond) - it's no exaggeration to say that if it wasn't for them many, many fine musicians, bands and projects across a huge cross section of jazz wouldn't be getting reviewed at all, because we're in the "desolate"(!) North. (M & SSBB on F/book 23/12/24)

Postage

18445 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 18 years ago. 309 of them this year alone and, so far this month (April 20 ) 43,

Reviewers wanted

Whilst BSH attempts to cover as many gigs, festivals and albums as possible, to make the site even more comprehensive we need more 'boots on the ground' to cover the albums seeking review - a large percentage of which never get heard - report on gigs or just to air your views on anything jazz related. Interested? then please get in touch. Contact details are on the blog. Look forward to hearing from you. Lance

From This Moment On

April

Thu 23: FILM: Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me @ Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle. 6:15pm. Dir. Robert Clem (2025).
Thu 23: Castillo Nuevo Orquesta @ Pilgrim, Newcastle. £6.50. 7:30pm (doors).
Thu 23: Eva Fox & the Sound Hounds @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Thu 23: Jeremy McMurray’s Pocket Jazz Orchestra & Musicians Unlimited @ ARC, Stockton. 8:00pm. £19.00. inc. bf.

Fri 24: Noel Dennis Trio @ The Gala, Durham. 1:00pm. Dennis, Mark Willams, Andy Champion. SOLD OUT!
Fri 24: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ The Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 24: Trio Grand @ Land of Oak & Iron, Winlaton. 6:00-9:00pm. Free.
Fri 24: Ben Vince + The Exu @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm (doors). £14.33., £11.16, £8.00. A ‘jazz adjacent’ gig!
Fri 24: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £13.20 (inc. bf).
Fri 24: TBC @ The Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm.

Sat 25: Giles Strong Quartet @ Hindmarsh Hall, Alnmouth. 7:30pm. CANCELLED!
Sat 25: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ The Old Cinema Launderette, Durham. 7:30pm (7:00pm doors). £13.20 (inc. bf).
Sat 25: ‘Portrait in Evans’: Noa Levy & Alan Barnes w. Paul Edis Trio @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm. £24.00. Sage Two. ‘Portrait in Evans’. Levy, Barnes, Edis, Andy Champion & Steve Hanley.

Sun 26: Musicians Unlimited: Big Band Blast @ West Hartlepool RFC. 1:00-3:00pm . Free.
Sun 26: Daniel John Martin w. Swing Manouche @ Central Bar, Gateshead. 2:00pm. £10.00.
Sun 26: More Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 2:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ruth Lambert Trio @ Juke Shed, North Shields. 3:00pm. Free.
Sun 26: Ni Maxine + Nauta @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £17.51., £14.33., £11.16.
Sun 26: Joe Steels @ The Pele, Corbridge. 7:00pm. Free (donations direct to the musicians). Joe Steels & Friends.
Sun 26: C.A.L.I.E @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £16.00., £14.00., £7.00.

Mon 27: Friends of Jazz @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 27: House of Blues @ the Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. £7.00., £5.00. advance. A student-led jazz session. ‘House of Blues’ is, perhaps, a misnomer.
Mon 27: Littlewood Trio @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm (doors). £10.00 + bf, £7.00. + bf.

Tue 28: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Black Swan, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!

Wed 29: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 29: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 29: Long/Remon/Zilker @ The Ship Isis, Sunderland. 7:00pm. £10.00. + £1.00. bf. Tom Remon plays Irish folk!
Wed 29: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 29: Hackney Colliery Band @ Alnwick Playhouse. 7:30pm. £25.00.

Sunday, January 01, 2023

Album review: Chicago Stompers - The Greatest Hits

Band leader, multi-instrumentalist, festival director and more, Mauro Porro has led the Chicago Stompers for two decades. To mark the milestone, the man from Milan chose to re-record much of the material on the Stompers' two previous recordings - C. S. Stomp and Too Late - and in so doing, assembled a first rate ensemble. A fifteen-strong core, plus five guests (four of them vocalists, variously soprano, alto, tenor and baritone), seventeen tracks, The Greatest Hits is the finished product, described by Porro as 'a present to our fans'.

From Ellington's East St Louis Toodle-Oo through to the closing 'bonus track', King Oliver's West End Blues, the Chicago Stompers lovingly recreate the jazz of a century ago, the 'jazz age'. The ensemble work is first rate, as are the many finely crafted solo contributions. Principal vocalist Marcella Malacrida is featured on eight tracks and, for good measure, plays glockenspiel on (Oh!) Lady be Good. Four alto saxophonists complement one another with Lorenzo Baldasso especially prominent. Pasquale Gravela's cornet features on all seventeen sides (Porro's cornet can be heard on half a dozen cuts), Giorgio Gallina's trombone playing catches the ear and Paolo A. Vanzulli makes himself heard on tuba. Guest vocalists Chiara Pederzani and Veronica Sbergia join Marcella Malacrida to produce superb vocal harmonies on Sunday. Excellent!

Mauro Porro's mastery of several instruments - piano, clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax, cornet, kazoo - is clearly evident throughout the album's near sixty minutes' playing time. Daniele Fazio recorded, mixed and mastered the album. The Chicago Stompers' twentieth anniversary (2002-2022) album The Greatest Hits (CD 005) is available from: www.chicagostompers.it. Russell                   
      
Marcella Malacrida (vocals - 3, 5, 8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, glockenspiel 12); Martino Pellegrini (violin - 3-5, 8-12, 14, 16); Pasquale Gravela (cornet); Lorenzo Baldasso (alto sax - 1, 2,4-9, 11-17, clarinet 1, 2, 4-6, 8, 9, 12, 16,17); Davide Vincenzi (alto sax - 3, 10); Sophia Tomelleri (alto sax - 2, 3, 5-9, 11-17, clarinet - 2, 3, 6, 8-12, 14, 16, 17); Arturo Garra (tenor sax, clarinet - 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17); Giorgio Gallina (trombone); Mauro L. Porro (piano, clarinet - 17, soprano sax - 1, alto sax - 11, cornet - 1, 6, 7, 12, 14, 15, kazoo - 16, arrangements & transcriptions); Michele Rusconi (banjo - 2, 3, 6, 9, 13, 15-17, guitar - 8, 10, 11); Yuri Biscaro (guitar - 5, 7, 12, 14); Paolo Dellino (banjo - 1, 4); Paolo A. Vanzulli (tuba - 1-7, 9, 10, 12-17); Marco Rottoli (string bass - 8, 11); Fabrizio Carriero (drums, percussion, effects, washboard - 9) + Chiara Pederzani (soprano vocals - 14, 16); Veronica Sbergia (alto vocals - 14, 16); Doug Bowles (tenor vocals - 10); Drew Nugent (baritone vocals - 7, 13); Andrès Villani (alto sax - 1, 4)     
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